The Green Family

      Dorothy Green had raised her 5 children the best she knew how, but it hadn't been easy doing so all on her own. After her husband died at age 34 from a heart attack, leaving her only with the small amount of money she received from the life insurance policy he had through the packing company, Dorothy had gone to work at the K&W cafeteria. She worked as a food server there for nearly 15 years, until her legs wore out and she finally had to quit. Now she received partial disability payments from the state. It wasn't much, but she had managed to get by on it and the little bit of extra she made working at the concession stand at the skating rink on Thursday and Friday nights. When she took on caring for Jonathan and baby Kisha, however, she had had to quit the concession stand because there was no one to look after the children so she could go to work in the evenings. Dorothy had always thought she'd be done raising kids by this time in her life, but here she was raising two more from scratch.

      Where had she gone wrong? Even on the little bit of money she had, Dorothy had always made sure her children had food to eat, warm clothes in the winter, and shoes on their feet. Even if it meant doing without herself, her children were always taken care of. She also brought her children up with the Bible and took them to church on Sundays. The two oldest boys had done all right by themselves. At least they had jobs and managed to support their families. But her third child, Robert, had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, dropped out of school, gotten himself in trouble with the law, and had spent time in jail. He was out now and working odd jobs here and there, but he was still living with Dorothy. It was the two girls that had fared the worst. Maybe it was because they were younger than the boys when their father died and Dorothy wasn't always at home to see to it that they stayed out of trouble. Whatever the reason, both of them had gotten themselves pregnant and dropped out of school before they graduated. Lynette, the older of the girls, had lived at home with her first born for about a year and a half. Then she got pregnant again and married the second baby's father. That only lasted for about two years, until he ran off on Lynette to be with another woman. Now Lynette was raising those two kids by herself.

      It was even worse with Brianna, the younger of Dorothy's girls and the baby of the family. As if it wasn't bad enough that Brianna had gotten herself pregnant, she had also gotten herself mixed up with drugs. Dorothy blamed it on the boy who had gotten Brianna pregnant with Jonathan. He was nearly five years older than Brianna and Dorothy could tell from the very start that he was no good. Shortly after Jonathan was born, the boy talked Brianna into leaving home and living with him. But that didn't last for long and Brianna was not only left to take care of Jonathan by herself, but also left pregnant with Kisha. When Kisha was born, the doctors at the hospital had told Dorothy that Brianna had been using drugs when she was pregnant. Brianna swore that she hadn't been and Dorothy had believed her. But now, Dorothy knew differently.

      An old woman living in the apartment above Brianna's had reported her to Social Services, and when they came to check up on the children they found the children dirty and hungry and Brianna passed out on the couch. Only later did Dorothy find out that this wasn't the first time Brianna had been reported for neglecting her babies. They took Jonathan and Kisha away from Brianna and put them in foster care. When Dorothy found out what had happened she went straight down to Social Services and got temporary custody of her two grandbabies. At the time, Jonathan was almost 3 years old and Kisha was only 10 months old.

      The children have been living with Dorothy for almost six months now. Brianna is supposedly in drug rehabilitation, but Dorothy isn't so sure what to believe. Social Services says Brianna can visit with the kids once a week, but sometimes she doesn't show up when she's supposed to and, even when she does come by, she doesn't always seem right. Hopefully, Brianna will straighten herself out eventually. In the meantime, what choice does Dorothy have but to take care of her grandbabies as best she can? She sees to it that they are fed and bathed and have clean clothes to wear, but taking care of two little ones isn't always easy. Especially on days when her legs are hurting, keeping after Jonathan can be a real challenge. He can be a real pistol sometimes and, when he takes to having one of his tantrums, it takes its toll on Dorothy. Kisha is, by nature, a little calmer but she's still a toddler and gets into things if she isn't watched constantly. To make matters worse, Lynette has gotten herself a part-time job at the dry cleaners and drops her two little ones off for Dorothy to watch while she's at work. Lynette keeps telling her that she's going to get the kids in child care, but finding someone or someplace that will keep them for a half-day three days a week and that's reasonably priced isn't easy. Then there's the practical matters of daily life that add to Dorothy's burden. For example, she doesn't have a car and, on her limited income, she doesn't even think about ever owning one. Sometimes one of Robert's friends drives her to the grocery or other places she needs to go, but usually she has to go on the bus with the children in tow. This is also how she gets the children to the doctor's or other places that aren't within a short walk from home.

Discussion Questions

1. Is there reason to be concerned about the quality of care and the provision of adequate supports for the development of these two young children (Jonathan and Kisha) who have been left in the care of their grandmother? If so, why?

2. In your own state or community, what sources of financial support would likely be available to the Green family? What are the eligibility requirements? Would receiving this assistance make a difference in the quality of care Jonathan and Kisha receive and their developmental progress?

3. What other resources in your state or community, if any, might be available to the Green family? How likely is it that citizens like Dorothy Green would know about these resources and use them?

4. What are your state or local policies related to child custody and/or foster care by grandparents or other relatives? How would these affect Dorothy Green?

5. How likely is it that Dorothy Green would be aware of the developmental needs of her two grandchildren, Jonathan and Kisha? In your own state or community, where would people like Dorothy Green get information on children's developmental needs?

6. What child care resources would be available in your own state or community for Dorothy Green's grandchildren? Would these options represent high quality child care? Would the same resources be available to all children in all locations? If not, what factors determine availability and eligibility?

7. Would the same child care resources you listed above (Question #6) continue to be available for Jonathan and Kisha if or when they are returned to the care of their mother, Brianna?

8. If affordable child care of reasonable quality were available to Dorothy Green, do you think she would use it? If not, what factors might contribute to her decision to use it?

P.J. McWilliam
National Center for Early Development and Learning
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

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